Critical Minerals – Geography of Energy  won the 44th Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA)!

 How can we build a sustainable future without making the same mistakes? For this project, I wanted to explore the shift to renewable energy and its challenges.

Through a mix of visuals and data, Critical Minerals explores the complex geopolitical, social, and environmental impacts of intensive mining. I focused on three key minerals—copper, lithium, and cobalt—and their extraction in Chile, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Indonesia due to their critical role in the green energy transition.

 Huge thanks to Benedetta Donato for nominating my project, and to the jury for recognizing how important and urgent this topic is. Shoutout to my awesome teammates Manuel Montesano and Samantha Azzani, and the incredible local storytellers Cristobal Olivares, Guerchom Ndebo, and Muhammad Fadli.

Also, a massive thank you to all the amazing institutions that supported me from day one, The National Geographic Society, The Climate Pledge.

This project is truly a collaborative effort, and I’m beyond proud that it’s been recognized as a key part of the conversation around energy transition.